Plaquemines Parish voters will join voters throughout the metropolitan area Saturday in considering a proposal to double the homestead exemption for disabled veterans and their spouses. The proposition, which was made possible by a state constitutional amendment approved by voters last year, would raise the $75,000 exemption to $150,000 for veterans deemed 100 percent disabled because of service-related injuries. Spouses of veterans would continue to receive that benefit even after the veterans' deaths.

The measure has already been approved in St. Charles Parish. In addition to Plaquemines, the issue is on the ballot in St. John the Baptist, St. Tammany and St. Bernard parishes.

Last November, the Legislature gave local governments the right to bring a homestead exemption increase before voters after the local parish council or police jury authorized that move. The constitutional amendment prevents local governments from replacing the lost revenue through other tax increases. The Baton Rouge chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart pushed the measure as a means of providing more assistance to veterans.

Plaquemines Parish has 1,050 veterans, said Robin Keller, a spokeswoman for the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs. However, Keller could not say how many of those veterans would qualify for the larger exemption because it would violate privacy guidelines.

It has been estimated that around 2,500 veterans statewide qualify for the change. When the constitutional amendment to allow the increased exemption was presented to Plaquemines voters last year, 66 percent of them supported it.